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One of a host of new side- and backcountry-ready boots built to handle aggressive descents, the Hurricane comes ready to step into alpine or AT bindings and includes lugged soles for ski mountaineering. The boots weigh only eight pounds, four ounces per pair but earned tester praise for their downhill power and ability to drive big skis over challenging terrain—inbounds and out. Scarpa’s PowerBlock walk/ski mechanism is exceptionally rigid in ski mode but allows plenty of ankle articulation for striding uphill. Warm, light Intuition liners provide a custom fit. The Booster strap acts like another buckle, making this rip-ready charger exceptionally responsive.
[$739; scarpa.com]

A race-bred, narrow-width offering is no longer missing from Dalbello’s line. The Scorpion, also available in freeride versions, employs a contemporary upright stance. It’s shaped to allow a little extra room in the trouble spots that usually require customization.

The new Mobe comes with the same sturdy ski/walk mechanism as the Hurricane, but thanks to its environmentally friendly Pebax shell, fewer chemicals are used in its production and it’s a touch lighter and stiffer. Its fixed, lugged sole is compatible with any AT binding.

The Endorphin, often attached to Marker Duke bindings, has been luring ever more alpiners into the backcountry since its debut a few years ago. It blends 130-flex support and performance with basic tourability—a comfy 103-millimeter last, a ski/walk mechanism, optional mountaineering soles, and light weight.

The top-performing women’s Krypton comes with two liner choices: ID, the foot-wrapping Intuition liner for women with warmth and fit issues; and a traditional ready-to-ski liner. As with any Krypton, the narrow fit, progressive flex, and lower hinge point define its performance.

Plake’s baby gets the most out of the cabrio construction. In walk mode, it has unusually long fore-aft flexibility for a natural stride. The Free version is quite substantial; the tech-compatible Tour a little lighter, with a 100-ish flex; the Lite, also with tech inserts, is the touring specialist.

Female testers appreciate Head’s effort in creating a line of women’s boots built on a female-specific shell. It fits much more snugly than the 102-millimeter last suggests, sculpted to match women’s narrower feet and lower calf muscles. And that good fit begets game-changing performance.

The Vector is built for all-day comfort—warm, roomy in the forefoot, easy to get off and on—but it knows where the edge of the ski is and how to get you there. Testers like the Spineflex buckles: The catches are flexible, like vertebrae, for improved shell-wrap.

Rossi makes a stiffer, narrower boot (the Pro 100) in the women’s Electra line, but testers greatly preferred the Sensor3 90. The fit is more accurate without any comfort or performance compromises, thanks to a liner that’s especially well tailored to the female foot.

You’ll see a lot of instructors and patrollers in this one—just wide enough for all-day comfort, but well balanced and plenty responsive to the moves of a skilled technician. Again, liner integrity is key—firm but anatomically shaped and skillfully manufactured.